FirstHealth Awarded Network Planning Grant from HRSA

PINEHURST – The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded a $100,000, one-year network planning grant to FirstHealth Community Health Services to assist with opioid prevention, treatment and recovery across a 10-county region.

This grant falls on the heels of the news that FirstHealth was also awarded a $600,000, three-year grant from HRSA to expand health care services in Richmond and Moore counties by increasing access and assistance for opioid use disorder.

Funding from the grant will be used to create the “Sandhills Opioid Response Network” across the 10 counties which include Moore, Richmond, Hoke and Montgomery counties.

“The goal of the grant is to form and sustain a community-driven network dedicated to addressing opioid abuse in the rural, south-central region of North Carolina,” says Roxanne Elliott, policy director for FirstHealth Community Health Services.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, opioid-related overdose deaths in North Carolina have increased by more than 800 percent from 1999 to 2016, resulting in more than 12,000 deaths.

Goals of the grant include conducting a partnership scan and ensuring key stakeholders in the region are included; conducting a whole systems mapping of all opioid-related work in the region to define gaps, duplications, and opportunities for collaboration; and piloting two best practices with technology solutions to address deficits.

Additional partners are invited to join the Network throughout the planning process. For more information, contact Roxanne Elliott by email at rmelliott@firsthealth.org or by phone at (910) 715-3487.